Wish
by Stephanie Speed
Summary: Introducing my character Stephanie Speed, me, yes I know I'm wierd. Stephanie hates her life. She finds a mysterious Crystal and wishes upon it and is warped to Mobius. How does the Sonic crew react? How will she react? How will Shadow react?
1. Black Crystal

_Sorry, this chapter is extremely boring but I need to tell you this stuff. Please review._ Chapter 1: Black Crystal 

A female human walked out of her school doors with regret. What she regretted was leaving school. Stephanie adored school. It was a place where she could be away from her family. She didn't have the best family.

A screaming dad, an annoying mother, and to top it all off a brother that bugged the brains out of her. Another place where she could be free is in her room, drawing. She loved to draw, mostly Sonic the hedgehog fan art. Yes, unlike her friends, she was interested in a talking hedgehog. She watched the TV show; owned Sonic the hedgehog video games and even had a little Sonic plush.

She shivered as the cold winter breeze seeped through her thin pink hoodie. Stephanie was wearing her usual attire, a hoodie with a T-shirt underneath, tight blue jeans and black high heel boots. She brushed her shoulder length dirty blonde hair out of her eyes just in time to see a snowball be launched in her direction. She let out a sigh and was hit by the ball of snow. The impact sent her off balance and she fell in a pile of snow. Stephanie growled.

"They're wrong. Blondes don't have all the fun." She remembered reading that stereotype comment in a magazine article. She quickly looked in both directions to see whom the criminal that through the snowball at her was, but she just saw an empty street. Stephanie sighed and laid back in the snow, but then quickly sat back up again.

"Ow!" she cried. Stephanie looked at where she had laid down. There, wedged in the snow, was something black, shiny and pointy. She digged it out and picked it up. In her hands was now a beautiful black crystal that was shaped like an emerald.

"It's beautiful." Stephanie sighed as she was hypnotized with its beauty. She quickly hid it under her pink hoodie, so no one could see it and say that the crystal was theirs, even though no one was there. She started to walk home. Another chilling breeze came, and Stephanie quickened her pace.

She opened the door to her small house.

"Hello?" Stephanie yelled.

"Hi, loser." someone called back from the kitchen. It was a too familiar voice, her brother's.

"Hello." Stephanie grinded her teeth at the name.

"I'm going upstairs." She threw her backpack and against the wall.

"I don't care." her brother replied rudely. Stephanie rolled her eyes and went up their curvy staircase, still holding the crystal. Stephanie walked into her bedroom and turned on her CD player and started listening to some Ashlee Simpson , quietly. She then plopped down on her bed, examining the gorgeous emerald.

_This kinda looks like a chaos emerald. _Stephanie compared the two.

She rolled over and sighed. She put the emerald on the night stand, then dozed off.

"STEPH!" Stephanie woke up startled by the yelling of her father.

"STEPH!" he screamed again. Stephanie moaned and went downstairs.

"Where have you been?" Her father yelled. "Probably on that damn computer again!"

"No dad, I fell asleep…" Stephanie replied quietly.

"What are you doing asleep? You're supposed to be watching your brother!" He pointed at her 10-year-old sibling that was scarfing down junk food. Stephanie just sighed.

"Your mother will be home any minute. I suggest you stay out of my way until then." Her father walked out of the room. Stephanie looked at her brother, as he stuck out his tongue and continued eating junk food.

Stephanie slowly walked up her stairs and went to her room. She walked over to her black computer and sat down on her fake leopard skinned chair. She pushed the power button and waited for it to start up. Her CD player was still on so she slightly bobbed her head to the music. After a minute of waiting the log on screen appeared she clicked on her account and typed in her password. Stephanie had a separate account because she didn't want her nosy brother to be messing up the computer.

Stephanie mostly went on the computer to look at, you guessed it, Sonic the hedgehog fan art. She thought expressing your thoughts about Sonic the hedgehog through fan art was a nice way to show everyone how you feel. Stephanie rubbed her forehead. _I sound like a freaking hippie! _Stephanie mentally moaned.

All of a sudden she heard "I'M HOOOME!"

She could hear her brother go "Mommy, mommy!" and run to the door.

_Great, a family reunion_ Stephanie thought. She put her computer to sleep/stand by and slow went down the stairs to be greeted with a huge hug.

"Hey! It's Stephi!" Her mother hugged her.

"Hi mom." Stephanie replied with a fake smile on her face. Why a fake smile, you might ask, well what if your father just yelled at you for resting. Would you be happy?

"Supper time, supper time!" her immature brother started to jump up and down. Stephanie rolled her eyes at him.

"Stephanie, help your mother make supper." Her dad walked in and planted a kiss on his wife. Steph hated when he said that, because when she usually helps out she ends up doing everything while her mother reads a book. But, she knew she had to or else she might get a slap in the chops.

"Yes, dad." Again she put on a fake smile and walked into their too white kitchen.

After dinner was eaten, Stephanie cleaned up the kitchen.

"Father, can I go upstairs?" Stephanie asked with puppy dog eyes. Her dad looked around to see what Stephanie could do.

"No, you can sweep the floor." Her dad said.

_Tell me how I'm related to this guy again? _Stephanie thought angrily.

She grabbed the broom and began to sweep. After she was finished she asked again if she could leave.

"You can do the dishes." Her dad yawned.

"No. I want to go upstairs." Stephanie's anger rose.

"Excuse me." Her dad raised a brow, agitated.

"I've been doing a lot around the house lately, and I think I deserve a break!" Stephanie yelled, then went suddenly scared as she realized what she had just said. The next ting she knew was that she was on the ground with great pain.

She looked up to see her dad with his hand still raised and staring at her with hatred in his face.

Everything after that went blurry because she started to tear up. She quickly got up and pushed her father aside, and ran upstairs. Stephanie ran into her bedroom slammed the door behind her and grabbed the jewel, that was on top of her black and pink nightstand.

"I wish that I could be somewhere where I would be welcomed and blend in with the crowd." Stephanie wished with all her heart. After she said that the jewel started to glow a warm glow. The glow made her feel dreamy and soon she fell asleep. There was then a bright flash of light then she disappeared.


	2. Guardian

_Here is chapter 2. I promise it is less boring than the first one. _

Stephanie yawned as she slowly woke up. She felt a smooth hard suface underneath her and opened her eyes when she heard a voice.

"What do you think your doing touching my emerald!" Stephanie was so startled she fell off of what ever she was on. Her vision was still adjusting to the light so everything was blurry. She saw a big green figure beside her and a red figure in front of her.

_What the hell? This isn't my bedroom! _Stephanie all of a sudden felt uneasy and queasy. Her vision came into focus and she saw an angry echidna straring at her, with his arms crossed. Stephanie looked all around her. She was at some acient alter. Stephanie looked at the huge green object beside her. It was the Master Emerald!

"Oh my god!" Stephanie covered her mouth with her hand, surprised. She looked back at the echidna, who was still waiting for an answer.

"Pink hedgehog, I asked you something!" Knuckles said angerly.

"I'm not a pink hedgehog." Stephanie replied confused why he called he a hedgehog. Knuckles arched a brow. Stephanie looked at him then looked at her hands. Her eyes widened. They were covered in pink fur! She looked at her arms. They were also covered. She looked at her body. She was wearing her same clothes but dhe had a bigger breasts. She felt her face. She felt a small muzzle and a small black nose. She ran her hand through her hair. She had quills and tree long bangs coming out of her forhead. She then froze. If she was a hedgehog then she had a… She looked at Knuckles as she ran her hand slowly down her back until she felt a tail. When she touched it her eyes went extremely wide and her pupils went small. Knuckles watched Stephanie curiously.

_Why the hell is she… feeling herself? _He thought.

Stephanie quickly got up. She compared her height to Knuckles. She was up to his forehead.

"I'm still waiting." Knuckles expression stayed the same.

"Oh, well, I seriously didn't mean to wake up on you r Master Emerald. I was just there." Stephanie became suddenly nervous.

"How were you just there?" Knuckles raised his brow again. Stephanie started to think of what to say.

"I'm not trouble or anything." Stephanie bowed her head shyly. Knuckles eyed her and then started to walk to the back to the stairs to the alter and sat down.

"Your right. What can a pink hedgehog do?" Knuckles said. Stephanie timidly walked to the other side and slowly sat down.

_Is this a dream? It must be. Knuckles isn't real. Besides, how could I end up on mobius? _Stephanie thought while looking at the blue morning sky. Then last night came back to her in a second. _No. Could the jewel I found be a chaos emerald? _Stephanie took the crystal out of her pocket and looked at it. _It can't be. There is no black chaos emerald. But it has to be because how else would I get here?_

Knuckles noticed she had something black in her hands. He looked a little closer. His eyes widened.

"Is that a… chaos emerald?" Knuckles asked.

"I don't really know?" Stephanie replied, still looking at it.

"May I see it?" Knuckles held out his hand. Stephanie only nodded and dropped it into is rather large glove. Knuckles examined before asking "Where did you get this?" Knuckles said looking up at her.

"I found it in some snow." Stephanie said quietly.

"How could find it in snow? It's summer on Mobius." Knuckles narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I'm not from here." Stephanie looked down the stairs.

"Then where are you from?" Knuckles asked curiosly.

_Should I tell him I'm from earth? Should I tell him I am human? Well, I guess I'm not really humn anymore. _Stephanie thought.

"I'm from… Earth." Stephanie said hesitantly.

"Earth?" Knuckles said, startled. "How did you get here, and aren't Earth… people, human?"

"Yes. I was human, and I don't exactly know HOW I got here. I'll I did was wish I was…" Stephanie realized what happened.

_The… jewel! It must of… "heared" my wish and sent me here. _Stephanie's eyes widened slightly. Knuckles looked at her expression curiously.

"Something wrong?" Knuckles asked.

"No." Stephanie looked at him, embarresed.

"Well, what was the last thing you did?" Knuckles started to thumb the crystal.

"I.. oh, it's quite embarrasing." she blushed.

"That's ok. I don't care." Knuckles replied looking at the stone.

"Ok… I got mad so I wished… that I could be somewhere where I would be welcomed and blend in with the crowd." Stephanie recited. Knuckles raised his brow then lowered it noticing Stephanie was sad, either that or in deep thought.

"That would explain why you are here." Knuckles said after a moment in silence. Stephanie turned to face Knuckles and held out her hand.

"By the way, I'm Stephanie." She smiled warmly. Knuckles looked at her face then her hand, then shook it.

"I'm-"

"Knuckles. Ya, I know" Stephanie interrupted. Knuckles frowned.

"How did you know that?" Knuckles asked, while narrowing his eyes.

"You guys are quite famous on Earth." Stephanie said.

"Ok…" Knuckles' expression lightened. Knuckles stood up.

"We'd better show Tails this." Knuckles said, referring "this" to the crystal.

"Ok." Stephanie stood up to and looked at the jungle in front of the shrine. It looked welcoming and scary at the same time.

_That's what I call oxymoron._ Stephanie smiled at her joke. Knuckles started to walk down the ancient stairs and she followed.

"So… what else do you know about me?" Knuckles asked, pushing some vine back.

"I know that you have a secret crush on Rouge." Stephanie teased.

Knuckles stopped and turned to Stephanie, as he heard a noise in the leaves above.

Then a figure landed behind Knuckles.

"So you do have a soft spot." the figure said.


	3. Tails

Yay! Chapter 3. Most of you probably guessed who the figure is; she makes it so obvious. Rouge: Shut up… Chaotic Psycho, are you calling Knuckles stupid? Knuckles: What he called me stupid? 

I think he was hinting towards that… Knuckles: Why you… holds back Knuckles Ok… sweat drop On with the chapter! Oh, and by the way, when Rouge carries her she doesn't hold her lesbianishly. I know I made that word up. ;)

Knuckles turned around. The figure stepped out into the sunshine so they could see-

"Rouge!" Knuckles gasped. Stephanie's smile faded away. Uh-oh. I just revealed his secret. Stephanie mentally slapped herself. Knuckles looked at Stephanie over his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes and looked back at Rouge.

'Don't worry Knuckles. I feel the same way." Rouge blushed. Knuckles began to blush too. Stephanie looked at the two. After a moment of silence Stephanie then cleared her throat, snapping the two back into reality.

"Oh. This is Stephanie." Knuckles gestured towards Stephanie.

"Hi!" Rouge smiled and briefly closed her eyes.

"Hi! To save you the trouble your name is Rouge." Stephanie would get tired of telling everybody she already knew them. Rouge's eyes went wide.

"How does she…?" Rouge said pointing at Stephanie.

"She's from earth." Knuckles rolled his eyes. Rouge's face returned to her normal sophisticated expression.

"Oh. That explains it." Rouge said. "So where ya guys heading off to?"

"Tails' workshop, to do some tests on this." Knuckles held up the black crystal.

"Is that… an emerald?" Rouge examined it closely.

"We don't know. That's why we are going to test it." Stephanie pointed out.

"Oh well can I come along?" Rouge smiled.

"Ya sure, I guess." Knuckles looked back at Stephanie who was walking closer to them. Stephanie nodded.

"Ok. Then let's go." Rouge said and started to walk in the direction towards Tails' workshop.

Rouge grew tired off walking and started to glide over them. Soon they came into a clearing and were met by a sandy coast. It was the edge of the island. Stephanie looked down and saw an ocean at least a hundred feet below the island. She became uneasy and stepped back. She looked back at Knuckles and Rouge, who were arguing over who was gonna carry Stephanie over the ocean.

"You should because you are both female and it would be uncomfortable for me to carry her." Knuckles said.

"Ya but I just met her." Rouge argued. Stephanie felt a little hurt but healed as she thought that they were only reluctant because they barely knew her. Rouge turned to her.

" Who would _you_ like to be carried by?" Rouge asked politely.

"It doesn't matter." Stephanie replied.

"That doesn't help, does it?" Knuckles sighed.

"I'll carry her." Rouge said, giving up. Rouge walked over to her and Stephanie turned around. She looked down as she saw Rouge wrap her arms around Stephanie's waist. Stephanie blushed. She wasn't used to being touched by other females. Stephanie felt a rush as they lifted off the ground. Stephanie looked around and saw Knuckles gliding beside them. He had a serious expression on his face, as usually. His dread locks flapped back as the air brushed past him. She than looked down and saw the calm ocean. Even though it was practically still it still frightened her.

_What if Rouge loses her grip? What if she drops me? _Stephanie's thoughts were interrupted by Rouge.

"Don't worry. I got you." Stephanie looked up. Rouge was looking at Stephanie's worried face. Stephanie nodded and stared forward, looking a little more relaxed.

It must have been an hour since they had left the island. Stephanie looked at Knuckles then at Rouge. Rouge looked tired and Knuckles was losing some altitude.

"Finally. Almost there" Knuckles let a sigh of relief escape his lips. They saw Mystic Ruins up ahead.

"Good, cause my wings are killing me." Rouge groaned.

"Ya and I think I have a red line around my stomach." Stephanie giggled.

"Would you rather be dropped in the ocean?" Rouge asked with a smile.

"No." Stephanie rolled her eyes. They were now gliding over land.

"Hold on this is going to be a rough landing." Rouge said. Suddenly, Stephanie became nervous.

"There's Tails' workshop." Knuckles pointed. "We can land on the X-tornadoes runway." They started to descend. Knuckles softly landed.

"I got an idea." Rouge said and glided 4 feet about the ground. "Get ready. I'm gonna drop you here."

"Ok. That doesn't sound bad." Stephanie thought it was going to be a painful landing. Rouge let go and Stephanie landed on her feet. She clenched her teeth. She was only wearing boots so her feet stung from impact. Rouge landed beside her.

"You ok?" Rouge asked.

"Ya I'm fine." Stephanie fake smiled, trying to hide her minor pain. She looked at the workshop. It was smaller than she had remembered from the TV series. Stephanie shrugged and followed Knuckles up the steps and to the door. Knuckles knocked on the door with his big-gloved hands. Stephanie nervously fiddled with her fingers. The door opened and there was a young two-tailed fox, Tails.

"Hey, Knuckles and… Rouge?" Tails raised a brow at the bat.

" If you think her being here is weird, then you'll love our new friend." Knuckles stepped out of the way, so that Tails could see Stephanie.

"Hi." Stephanie said holding her arm bashfully.

"Hi." Tails became confused. "Who are you?"

"I'm Stephanie. I'm from earth." Stephanie said, letting go of her arm.

"How did you get here?" Tails asked.

"She used this jewel." Knuckles answered holding up the "emerald". "We came here for you to do some tests on it and see if it is a chaos emerald."

"Ok. But that doesn't explain why Rouge is here." Tails teased. Rouge rolled her eyes.

"I wanted to tag along." Rouge said crossing her arms.

"That's good enough for me." Tails said and stepped aside for them to come in.


	4. Chaos Control

Me: Yay! Another chapter! With Tails! Tails: Uh… hi. Me: So… ya. I do not own anyone in this story, except Stephanie. Ya, I own her.

The three of them walked into the small workshop. Stephanie looked around and then spotted the X-tornado.

_Wow. It looks way better than on TV. _Stephanie smiled. _No duh._

"Here, Tails." Knuckles handed him the jewel. Tails walk over to a desk and attached some wired suction cups to it and turned on a monitor. He sat down on a chair and waited for the monitor to boot up.When it finally did Stephanie walked up behind him and looked at the screen.

"What are we looking at here?" Stephanie said scanning the screen.

"If it shows high energy readings then it is very likely that it is a chaos emerald." Tails said looking at Stephanie.

The door to the workshop opened.

"Hey Tails!" Sonic said then stopped in his tracks when he saw Stephanie. Stephanie continued to look at the screen. It was indeed showing high signature readings. She may not be an expert in technology but she knew that the jagged line going up meant high.

"This is Stephanie." Tails said. It was quite annoying to Stephanie to hear that over and over again. Stephanie turned around and saw Sonic.

"Hi." Sonic said.

"Hi." Stephanie replied.

"I'm-" Sonic said. Stephanie let out a short exhale through her mouth.

"Sonic." Stephanie said. Sonic gave Stephanie a confused look. She smiled and turned back to the monitor.

"I'll explain later." Stephanie said.

"Ok… What ya guys doing?" Sonic asked Knuckles.

"Tails is testing Stephanie's jewel to see if it's a chaos emerald." Knuckles said crossing his arms. Sonic walked over to the desk.

"It's black." Sonic said surprised.

"Ya." Stephanie looked at Sonic. "Is that bad?"

"No. It's just usually they are bright colors." Sonic shrugged.

"Ya, that is weird." Tails said as he unwired the emerald and handed it to Stephanie. "There's one more thing to do to make sure it _is_ a chaos emerald, use chaos control." Tails said. "We'll test it outside. They all walked out on to the runway.

"So who's gonna test it?" Rouge asked.

"Well, seeing it belongs to Stephanie then she should." Tails answered. They all looked at the nervous Stephanie.

"Don't worry. All you have to do is concentrate on a place you want to go and say 'Chaos Control'." Sonic said then his expression turned sad, followed by the others. The phrase Chaos Control reminded them of their friend Shadow the hedgehog, who had died saving the lives of the people on earth. Stephanie became sad herself. Shadow was one of her favorite characters and it was even sadder now that she was on Mobius.

"So are we gonna test it or what?" Knuckles asked. Rouge elbowed him in the ribs.

"Ow. What?" Knuckles began to rub his sore ribs.

"You are so sensitive." Rouge said, rolling her eyes.

"It's ok. Knuckles is right. We should test it now." Tails said trying to cheer up.

Stephanie held out her hand, closed her eyes and pictured the space behind Sonic.

"Chaos Control." Stephanie nervously said. She opened one eye and saw everyone looking at her. She hadn't moved an inch. She tried it once more.

"Chaos Control." she said a little louder. This time there was a flash of light and Stephanie was gone. Everyone gasped and looked around.

"Where did she go?" Sonic said.

"I'm right here." Stephanie was right behind Sonic. Sonic shivered and quickly turned around.

"Hehe." Sonic said rubbing the back of his head. Stephanie smiled then looked at Tails.

"It is a chaos emerald!" Tails said excitedly.

"What is even more exciting is that Stephanie can use chaos control." Rouge smiled mischievously.

"Don't get any ideas." Knuckles looked at Rouge and her smile was gone.

"Oh please Knuckles. I don't steal any more." Rouge said putting her hands on her hips.

Knuckles rolled his eyes and looked at Stephanie.

"Yes it is quite strange that you can also use chaos control." Knuckles said.

"Jealous Knux?" Sonic asked.

"No. Why would I be I have the Master Emerald." Knuckles said.

"Right." Sonic said. "Well, we might as well invite Amy, Cream and Cheese over so they can meet you too." Stephanie nodded as Tails went inside and called Amy Rose then Cream.

After 5 minutes of waiting Cream and Cheese came and the Amy.

"Hi guys!" Amy waved. "Hi Sonic!"

"Hello everyone." Creamed curtseyed sweetly.

"Chao chao!" Cheese greeted

"Hi Amy. Hi Cream and cheese. This is Stephanie." Tails said. They both waved and Stephanie waved back.

"Let's go inside." Sonic suggested. They all walked inside and into the "non-workshop" part. Sonic relaxed on a couch, Amy sat beside him, Cream and Cheese sat in some bean bags, Knuckles remained standing, Rouge sat in a chair and Stephanie sat in another chair in front of the room.

"I should probably tell you guys about me." Stephanie said nervously. She had never had this much attention before. She found a comfortable position and began to tell them how she came here and how she came to be a hedgehog.

After she was done a lot of questions rose in the air, like "what was it like to be a human?" and "how come they are famous?"

Every question was answered and Stephanie felt quite exhausted. Then Sonic asked one more question.

"How fast are you?" He said with a smirk.

"Actually I don't know." Stephanie frowned.

"Well, let's find out." He said getting up and walking out the door. Everyone followed Sonic.

"I'll race you." Sonic said.

"But-" Stephanie started.

"Come on it'll be fun." Sonic winked. Stephanie sighed.

"Ya, for you." Stephanie mumbled and stood beside Sonic. They both got into racing position.

"Ready… Set… Go!" Tails, Amy, Cream and Cheese yelled. The two raced off. Stephanie looked around in surprise. She saw things shoot past her and a blue hedgehog four feet in front of her.

Sonic looked back and was shocked to see Stephanie close behind him. _Wow. That has never happened before. _He looked forward and saw their friends. He smiled. _I'm still gonna win._ Sonic sped up and immediately stopped where his friends were standing. He turned to face Stephanie who stopped right beside him five seconds after he stopped.

"We went around the whole island already?" Stephanie raised her eyebrows. Sonic nodded.

"I'm still the champ." Sonic said. Stephanie rolled your eyes.

"You were pretty good. I thought you would be as slow as Amy." Sonic smirked and looked back at Amy.

"Hey!" Amy said. "I may be slow but I am powerful."

"Right." Sonic said sarcastically. "Your last name should be Speed."

Stephanie's eyes went wide with joy and she smiled.

"Ya, Stephanie Speed." She said, wanting to jump up and down.

"Really? I was just kidding but, ok." Sonic said. "At least it sounds good."

"It looks like you have a new play mate, Sonic." Rouge laughed. Stephanie blushed. She hadn't been complimented this much in a long time.

"Ya, now I have someone to race with." Sonic chuckled. Stephanie looked at the sky.

"It's getting dark. It been a pretty long day." Stephanie said looking at all her new friends.

"Cheese and I should probably get home." Cream said to Amy.

"Ok, I'll take you home." Amy said. "Bye guys!"

"Bye." Cream waved.

"Chao chao." Cheese waved too. Then they headed towards the train that went to Station Square.

"I should go to. The Master Emerald needs guarding." Knuckles smiled.

"Ok. Where do I go?" Stephanie giggled.

"You could come to my place." Rouge offered.

"Ok. Thanks." Stephanie said gratefully.

"Bye." Rouge said to her friends and blew a kiss to Knuckles, turning him red.

"Bye." Stephanie said and turned to Rouge. "Where is your house?"

"It's also in Station Square." Rouge said, heading to the train.

"Really? Cool." Stephanie said.

Once the two girls disappeared down the big staircase leading up the hill to Tails' workshop, Sonic looked at Knuckles with a grin.

"What was that?" Sonic said mischievously.

"What was what?" Knuckles said. Still staring at the beginning of the stairs.

"That blown kiss." Sonic said putting his fists on his hips.

"That… was nothing." Knuckles blushed even more.

"I'll see you guys later." He said and glided away.


	5. Kidnapped

_I thank **Ashley the Dragon** for being a great supporter and **chaotic psycho **for being a great friend._

Knuckles: Ya right he called me stupid. Me: No he didn't. Knuckles: he hinted at it, remember? Me: I'm pretty sure he didn't mean it. Knuckles: Whatever… Me: Well, here's the next chapter! Enjoy. It's a pretty short chapter, sorry.

Rouge and Stephanie walked up the sidewalk to Rouge's house. What they didn't know is that someone was watching. A newly built Zero waited until they calmly walked into her apartment and got comfortable. Then he watched through the window for the perfect moment to make his move.

"First, we're gonna get you out of _those _baggy human clothes…" Rouge said and Stephanie blushed.

"… and into some nice clothes." Rouge finished her sentence. "I have a _whole_ wardrobe you can try out."

"Yay." Stephanie mumbled sarcastically. Rouge quickly walked into her room and came back with a pile of clothes. She sorted them into out fits then handed them to Stephanie.

"You can go into my bedroom and put them on, then come show me them." Rouge said excitedly then sat on her black couch. Stephanie walked into the bedroom and closed the door. She put the clothes on the bed and took off her clothes. She stared at the long mirror on the wall and admired her new body. She had dark pink fur every where, except there was peach skin starting at her breasts curving with her figure down until her crotch.

_I am so happy now that I'm here. _Stephanie thought turning around and put on the first outfit.

She opened the door and looked at Rouge nervously because of her small outfit. Rouge looked her up and down. She was wearing a pink tight T-shirt with a heart exposing some of her chest and short shorts with black running shoes.

"I don't like wearing this small of clothing." Stephanie said looking at her shorts.

"Ya, besides shorts don't really suit you." Rouge said. Stephanie nodded the walked back into the room. This time she came out wearing a red tube top and a black long shirt.

"Umm… I look like a vampire." Stephanie admitted.

"Ya, you do." Rouge giggled. Stephanie walked in and then out. Now she wore Rouge's outfit, the black tight suit with a pink hard heart incasing her boobs.

"One word. No." Stephanie laughed.

"That is _so _not your look." Rouge smiled.

"You're right, it's yours." Stephanie giggled and then walked back into the room. Then came out wearing a short skirt, a black tube top and black knee high boots. She made a pose making fun of her small outfit.

Zero grew impatient and trusted its hard metal hand at the outside wall, breaking it. It quickly grabbed Stephanie and sped away. The reason it had grabbed Stephanie is because it had mistaken Stephanie for Amy, who Eggman wanted to capture. Rouge gasped and ran after the robot, but it was too late. It outran her and was gone.


	6. New Helper

_Oh my gosh! **Chaotic psycho **takes too long so I'm righting this against my protest. sigh Oh and to all my fans thank you so much for supporting my work and bugging **chaotic psycho**! Thanx! In this story this is one part of the chapter is the only part that shows what the others are doing (a.k.a. "meanwhile")._

Zero "rolled" through the metallic doors and into a room with cells. It threw Stephanie into one of them, locked the door and went to go tell Eggman that "Amy" was captured. Stephanie slowly got back up and rubbed her sore back.

"Stupid robot." Stephanie muttered. She walked over to the corner of her cell and sat down. Stephanie looked around. There were other cells that were password protected.

_Well, this isn't gonna get better. _Stephanie thought and closed her tired eyes and fell into a light sleep

Stephanie awoke to a door sliding open. She heard footsteps walk towards her cell. She quickly stood up, startled. She pressed her back against the wall and stared forward, scared of who she might see coming to her barred cell. Stephanie heard the footsteps grow closer and sighed in relief as saw Sonic well-known enemy, Eggman.

"It's nice to see you again Amy." Eggman smiled. He frowned as he looked up and down at her. "You've changed."

" I'm not Amy." Stephanie rolled her eyes. "My name is Stephanie… Speed." She was still getting used to her new name. Eggman growled then looked at Zero.

"I told you to bring Amy but you didn't! Thanks to you we have no bait to lure in Sonic!" he raised his fist and punched the robot, but then realized that was a mistake. As soon as his fist collided with the metal he felt pain. He grabbed his hand.

"Oh oh oh!" Eggman said jumping up and down.

Stephanie giggled. Eggman calmed down and then looked at Stephanie again.

"So, how come I haven't seen you before?" Eggman asked.

"I'm from earth." Stephanie answered.

"Have you come in contact with Sonic and his friends?" Eggman said. "How did you get here?"

"Yes I have and I used a chaos emerald." Stephanie said answering his questions in order.

"A chaos emerald?" Eggman's brows lifted. "May I see it?"

Stephanie Speed held up the black emerald that she had been keeping in the back pocket of her small black shirt.

"Interesting." Eggman gave a sly smile. "You may be useful…"

"What makes you think I would do anything for you?" Stephanie frowned. Eggman chuckled and pulled out a laser gun from his red coat's pocket.

"If you cherish your life," He smiled pointing the gun at Stephanie "then you will."

Stephanie paused staring at the gun. _Would he really shoot me… I better not take that chance. _She looked down disappointed in her decision.

"Fine." Stephanie looked up.

"Good." Eggman said. He returned the gun to his pocket and pressed in keys on the password pad.

The barred door opened slowly.

"You are aboard the Egg Carrier. You are restricted to your room and the main control room until you have proven you are worth my trust." Eggman said. "Decoe and Bocoe will show you to your room."

Two robots that Stephanie hadn't noticed walked up to her.

"I am Decoe." said the tall gold one.

"And I am Bocoe." said the short silver one.

"Follow us." Decoe said. Stephanie followed the two silently and after many hallways came to an empty room with white wall a double bed with green sheets and a small table lamp on a table.

_Looks like a hospitable room…_ Stephanie said as she looked at the green sheets with disgust. The robots walked away talking to themselves. She turned to the room and walked in. Stephanie walked to the small window and looked out. They were slowly flying over a forest. _That must be Green Forest _Stephanie thought. It looked so beautiful and green. On earth she had rarely seen forests that looked this way.

She looked at the sky and saw shining stars. They were the brightest stars she had ever seen. On earth, since she lived in a city, she didn't get to see many stars because of the city lights. She walked away from the window and closed the door. She sat on the hard bed and she slowly took off her high knee boots that she had become fond of and put them beside the bed. She straightened her small black skirt and crawled underneath the cold covers. She stared at the ceiling. _I wonder what Rouge is doing now…_

_Mean while_

Rouge quickly flew to Knuckles' island. She didn't know where else to go. Everyone was probably sleeping. She knew Knuckles was awake because he was guarding the Master Emerald. Sweat became to form on her forehead and she began to fly faster, using the ocean wind to speed up. She saw the island and a small smile appeared on Rouge's face.

Soon she landed on the sandy beach of the floating island. She ran to the center of the island and found the shrine. She looked at the Guardian with worried eyes.

"Stephanie's been captured!" She quickly said.

"What!" Knuckles straightened up from his laid back position.

"Zero took her." Rouge replied.

"I thought Amy destroyed it a while back?" Knuckles said.

"Eggman must have rebuilt it." Rouge answered. "But that's not the point, I don't know where they went!"

Knuckles sighed.

"Can't this wait until morning?" Knuckles said calming himself down.

"But-" Rouge started to say.

"No, I'm tired, your tired and that doesn't help tracking. Have you told any of the others yet?" Knuckles asked.

"No, they were sleeping." Rouge said.

"Ok." Knuckles saw Rouge's panicked look. "It's ok Rouge. I have never seen you this worried before."

Rouge quickly changed her expression to a relaxed one. _Damn, there goes some of my reputation. _

"It's just she is new here." Rouge said.

"She kinda knows this place, remember? She has played our video games…" Knuckles was slightly weirded out by the fact that they were popular on earth and had their own _games._

"Look, if it makes you fell better, you can sleep her tonight." Knuckles said shyly. Rouge smiled. 

"That sounds good." Rouge walked to one of the stone steps and made her self comfortable. "Good night, Knuxie."

Knuckles cringed at that nickname.

"Good night, _Batty Girl._" Knuckles said making a come back and went back to his relaxing position. Rouge just giggled and closed her eyes.


	7. Discovery

_S.S.: Yay! Chapter 7. Knuckles: yay… Rouge: Oh come on Knuckles: Your telling me to come one. You called me KNUXIE Rouge: So, you called me Batty Girl. Like what's with that? Knuckles: I couldn't think of anything better… S.S.: Uh, guys? Knuckles & Rouge: Ya? S.S.: Your names were both lame… Knuckles: Well what kind of name is Stephanie Speed? S.S.: I don't know. Sonic said it not me. Rouge: Ya but you agreed with it. S.S.: Enough! Your wasting the readers time! Knuckles: We are? What about this story? Rouge elbows Knuckles in the ribs again. Knuckles: Damn it! That's the same spot! _

Stephanie slowly opened her eyes. When she saw her surroundings, she sat up straight, startled. Then she remembered the last night. She groaned, pulling off the covers and started to put on her black boots. Stephanie stood up and pulled down her skirt a little bit, because it was a little too high, and pulling up her black tube top a little bit, because it was a little low from her restless sleep.

She opened the door and stepped back when she saw Decoe and Bocoe staring at her.

"Good morning." they both greeted.

"Uh, good morning." Stephanie said back with a raised brow.

"Eggman has been waiting for you to wake up." Decoe said.

"We shall take you to the main control room." Bocoe said. She followed them down the metal hallway and into a room. There was a big monitor on the wall, a wide keyboard underneath and a "swivel" chair in front of it. In the middle of the room there was a red couch and in front of it there was a long glass case attached to the wall. She went up to it and placed her hand on it.

"That is a healing tank." Eggman came up behind her. Startled she turned around.

"Now." Eggman walked over to the computer desk, which the keyboard was on, and picked up a device and walked back towards Stephanie. "Use this to do your first task."

He handed the gadget to Stephanie. It was a thick rectangle that had a screen and a small satellite dish coming out of the top.

"What is this?" Stephanie asked.

"It is a P.R." Eggman replied. Stephanie looked at him confused. Eggman sighed.

"A Portable Radar…" Eggman said rubbing his forehead.

"Oh." Stephanie felt stupid.

"Anyways, it picks up high energy readings. Use it to find one of the chaos emeralds in White Jungle." Eggman walked to his computer and turned it on.

"I will be monitoring your progress. Bocoe will accompany you." He gestured to the shorter silver robot. Stephanie timidly opened the door to the outside of the ship and saw that they had landed. She let out a sigh of relief and stepped out. _Good thing I didn't have to sky dive off the Carrier _Stephanie smiled. She walked into the jungle with Bocoe by her side.

Stephanie wished she had gone with Decoe, he probably didn't talk as much as Bocoe. Bocoe had been talking non-stop about the Egg Carrier. Her stomach growled. She hadn't eaten anything since she was at Tails' workshop. Stephanie spotted some short trees that grow banana-like fruit. They were pale yellow with pink stripes.

"Are those edible?" She asked Bocoe. Bocoe observed them and nodded his head. She jumped up and plucked one out of the tree. She peeled it and then took a small bite out of it. A smile spreaded on her face. They were delicious. She closed her eyes and took another bite. Soon the whole thing was gone. She dropped the peel on the ground and looked at her monitor. There was a large green dot that was blinking, north from where they were.

"Come on." Stephanie said and walked in the dot's direction.

After about five minutes the dot was blinking rapidly and was close to where they were standing.

"Over here." Stephanie gestured towards a thick mess of vines and tropical plants. She cautiously pushed away the obstacles and the robot tagged along. They soon came to a clearing. In the middle of the clearing was a…

_Crater! Why is there a crater in a jungle? _Stephanie thought, slowly walking towards it. She came to the edge of it and peered down. Her eyes grew wide.

"Oh… my… god!" Stephanie jumped into the crater and Bocoe carefully "climbed" down. She walked over to the reason why she was surprised and startled. There lying on his stomach was a beaten up, unconscious Shadow the hedgehog.

She cautiously crouched down on her knees beside him slowly turning him onto his back, holding his head in her hand. Stephanie slightly shook him to wake him. He groaned in pain and slowly opened his eyes. This made Stephanie even more nervous, but she let a small smile grow on her face. It was good to see him still alive. He fully opened his eyes and was startled. He would have jumped if he weren't in this condition.

"Tell Eggman to come her immediately." Stephanie turned her head to Bocoe.

"Who are you?" Shadow asked weakly.

"That's not important now. What's important is that we get you to some medical attention." Stephanie surprised herself at how mature she sounded. She ran her fingers over the cuts on his arms and looked at the wounds one his chest and stomach. His white fur was temporarily stained with blood. Then she noticed the green emerald in his hand. She quickly took and hid it in her tube top. The Egg Carrier's shadow casted over them and Shadow passed out.

Eggman and Decoe stepped out of the flying vehicle and walked to wards them.

"Decoe, help me carry him inside." Stephanie ordered. Deco helped Stephanie stand up Shadow and he took the one side while Stephanie had the other. Once inside the Carrier, they went to the main control room.

"Put him in the glass case." Eggman said as he quickly walked to the computer and started to type. Stephanie carefully wrapped her arms around him and put him in the tank. She put the breathing mask around his head and just looked at him. She hadn't noticed until now, he was pretty cute.

She closed the door to the tank. Eggman pressed a button and the tank filled with liquid and too greenish lights that were on the bottom of the tank turned on, making the liquid look pale green.

"How long will it take for him to heal?" Stephanie asked still staring at the sleeping Shadow.

"I don't know. Some heal faster than others." Eggman shrugged. "Did you find the chaos emerald?"

_I knew he would want it! I'm not giving it to him, it belongs to Shadow. _Stephanie thought angrily.

"No." Stephanie replied calmly.

"Hmm… I'll have to fix the device. I'm just glad we have our team member back.

_You mean **your**__team member. I'm not on this team. _Stephanie thought. _It will take you more than a gun to my head to switch sides. _But Stephanie didn't know that soon there would be a reason to switch sides.


	8. Awake

Me: Yay! Shadow is in the house. Shadow: Ok… Me: Now, I bet a lot more people are gonna be reading! Shadow: Why? Me: (shakes head) never mind…

The next day Shadow was still unconscious. Stephanie jest sat patiently on the couch, waiting for him to open his eyes. Decoe came in.

"Eggman said he's running out for some… errands before we take off again. He is wondering if you would like to come." Decoe said.

"Tell him no thanks." Stephanie still felt awkward around Eggman. Decoe walked out and Stephanie's eyes returned to Shadow.

It had felt like hours and Stephanie was getting impatient. Eggman had returned five minutes ago and was now turning on the engines. Once in the air, Eggman walked over to Shadow's healing tank. He examined Shadow's healing body.

"From the looks here, Shadow shall be fully healed by tomorrow." Eggman looked at Stephanie's worried look. "Don't worry. He isn't in a coma or anything, he's just… sleeping." Eggman walked back to the computer and started muttering something about a new plan to him self. Stephanie had grown tired off waiting so she rested her head on the couch and closed her eyes. In a matter of minutes, she fell into a light sleep.

An air bubble floated to the top of the tank and Shadow stirred. He slowly and lazily opened his eyes. Again he was startled by where he was. He put his hands on the tank and tried to push it to open the tank, but it was no use. He looked around the room. _This must be Eggman's property. He is the only one with that big of a computer. _Shadow thought staring at the monitor. He then caught sight of something dark-pink and turned his head.

_That girl! _ Shadow remembered opening his eyes and she was there, comforting him. He remembered great pain. He remembered falling from the ARK and plunging towards earth. He blacked out while entering the atmosphere.

He watched her peacefully sleep. He looked at her tiny clothing. _Great, we got a slut on board. _Shadow shook his head. He watched her body slowly rise up and down when she inhaled and exhaled. She was gentle looking. Suddenly, her hand twitched and she opened her eyes, to see Shadow, staring at her. She quickly stood up and nervously covered her bare stomach with her arms. She then went to the computer and talked into the intercom.

"Eggman, Shadow is awake." Stephanie said, then walked and stood in front of the tank.

"Can… you hear me?" Stephanie asked nervously. Stephanie always got nervous when talking to someone she had not met before. Shadow nodded. He could not talk with the breathing mask on. Stephanie smiled and turned around when she heard the door slide open.

"Good, Shadow. Your awake." He walked over to the computer and pressed a few keys. Soon he was looking at bar graphs, showing Shadow's health.

"He is good enough to come out." Eggman said, walking over to the side of the tank.

"Stephanie, get ready to catch him when the door opens. He's to weak to stand." Eggman said letting his finger hover over a button. Stephanie timidly nodded and readied herself. Eggman pushed the button and the door opened. Stephanie braced herself and felt a lot of weight push down on her. Holding him with her arms, she set him on the couch. He was wet and cold.

"I'll go get some towels." Stephanie at least knew where the bathroom was. Stephanie walked out of the room, the automatic door sliding closed behind her.

"Who was that?" Shadow asked, looking up at Eggman.

"That is Stephanie Speed. She will be helping us here." Eggman smiled mischievously. Shadow shrugged and looked at the hedgehog as she came into the room with a white towel hung over her right arm.

She handed Shadow the towel and stood beside Eggman.

"Well, I guess there is no point in introducing anyone, since Shadow now knows you and you know him because your from earth." Eggman said and Shadow gave an alarmed look when he heard she was from earth.

"He knows about me?" Stephanie gave a puzzled look.

"He's the one that asked." Eggman said. "Stephanie, there is an empty room beside yours. Why don't you show Shadow where his new quarters are."

Stephanie helped up Shadow and after five seconds of standing, his legs became used to his weight and he was able to walk. He followed Stephanie out of the room and into the hallway. Stephanie's room wasn't far from Shadow's. The sliding doors slid open and they walked in. It was completely white and there was a black double bed.

_How come her gets the good bed! _Stephanie thought.

"Well, here we are." Stephanie sighed.

Can you stay for a few minutes?" Shadow asked staring at the white walls. Stephanie was surprised.

"Uh, sure. Why?" Stephanie asked.

"I like to know about my allies." Shadow said, now looking at Stephanie.

Oh, ok." Stephanie said and sat on his bed.

"Well, my name is Stephanie Speed, my nickname is Steph and my loved ones call me Stephi (pronounced Stephy). I am from earth and-" Stephanie stopped herself. _Should I tell him I was human? _Stephanie knew Shadow had a grudge against humans and she was afraid he wouldn't like her.

"Ya, that's about it." She concluded. Shadow nodded. Silence fell upon the two. Stephanie stood up and cleared her throat.

"Well, I better get going." Stephanie walked up to the door and was about to walk out.

"Stephanie." Shadow said, stopping her. "It was nice to meet you."

Stephanie just smiled, again, surprised and walked out of the room. She walked down the hall and walked into her room. She closed the door and took off her boots. She was confused. It was so unlike Shadow to act that way, he was acting out of character, and so soon. They just met. They were just a few words but still, usually he was… grumpy.

She went under the covers to her ugly green bed and fell asleep.


	9. Who needs them?

Shadow hasn't felt this way in a long time, although, he didn't know _what_ he was feeling. _There's just something about her…_

Shadow was still standing by the door Stephanie had just walked out of, thinking about what he had said earlier. _It was nice to meet you? _Shadow shook his head. He usually doesn't act that way. What had possessed him to say that? Why did he want to know her a litter more? He never wanted to know Rouge more. Then it came to him.

_Her blue eyes. They are nothing like that fox boy's, his are dark blue. Stephanie's are steel blue…_ _just like Maria's. _Shadow's eyes slightly widened. He shook his head. It was nothing. Soon he would act his usual self and everything will be back to as it was before the ARK incident.

Stephanie slowly woke up and just laid there. After a few minutes, she grew bored and got up, putting on her boots. She opened her door and looked down the hallway, to find that not even Decoe or Bocoe were there. Stephanie went into the bathroom and closed the door, then stripped away her clothing. She looked at the towel rack to make sure there was a clean towel there and she stepped into the bathtub that was also a shower. Stephanie turned the handle and warm water started to poor from the faucet. She then pulled a small rod and water began pouring down on her. Stephanie pulled the gray curtain, covering her.

She stood there breathing in the steam, enjoying the feeling of water trickling down her body. Her wet quills pressed against her neck and the back of her shoulders. Then a thought came into her mind. _What are they doing back home? Are they worrying about where I am? _She thought about her parents and brother and was surprised that she didn't miss them. The doorknob being turned and the door opening and being closed again interrupted her thoughts.

She pulled back the curtain, only exposing her face, and saw a sleepy black and red hedgehog, walking towards the sink, holding a small white towel.

Shadow looked at the mirror and saw Stephanie peeking at him from behind a shower curtain. He quickly turned around, automatically apologizing.

"Sorry." Shadow said stepping back.

"It's ok. Just knock next time." Stephanie said blushing and smiling warmly.

Shadow noticed her blush, so he turned to the sink, with a simple "hmph" and began splashing water on his face with ungloved hands. Stephanie moved her head back into the shower and resumed washing herself.

She didn't turn off the water until Shadow left the room. When she heard the door close, she turned the faucet. She slowly got out and onto a gray small rug and grabbed the bland white towel. _Does everything have to be colorless? _The only colored things she has seen on the carrier was her ugly green sheets and the red couch in the main control room. Stephanie dried herself and wrapped the towel around her body as a covering. She looked both ways down the hallway and dashed into her room. Stephanie closed the door behind her and unwrapped the towel. Stephanie put on her clothes and walked to the control room.

No one was in there. _Where is everyone? _Stephanie thought. She plopped down on the red couch and closed her eyes, sighing.

"You sound bored." she heard a voice from behind her. Startled, she opened her eyes and looked behind the couch. Leaning against the wall was the black and red hedgehog. She admired the way he looked and all of a sudden felt a rush and a feeling in her stomach.

_Oh no. I'm not falling for a hedgehog, am I? _Stephanie faced the front of the couch again. Another voice came into her head. _There is nothing wrong with liking **another **hedgehog._

_Oh ya… _Stephanie was still getting used to the fact that she was now different. She was now a hedgehog, a Mobian.

Shadow raised a brow. _Ok… Why is she ignoring me? _

"There is nothing to do around here." Stephanie said, still staring off into space.

"Oh ya, I forgot you're a girl." Shadow smiled teasingly. Stephanie turned to him, frowning.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Stephanie asked, offended.

"Well, if you were a guy, like me, than I would race you but since you are a girl, you probably are too slow." Shadow said, that smile that Stephanie thought was attractive still showing. Stephanie turned back to original position, facing the healing tank.

"Just to let you know, I almost defeated _Sonic _in a race." Stephanie said proudly.

"The Faker? He is about as fast as a snail." Shadow smirked. Stephanie stood up, facing Shadow.

"I will not let you insult my friend, just to make yourself better." Stephanie said putting her hands on her bare hips.

"Your friend!" Shadow stood up straight.

"Yes, my friend. If you thought that I am on the "dark" side, than you thought wrong." Stephanie walked out of the room, leaving a shocked Shadow. _She's friends with faker? _Shadow stared at the ground, then shrugged. _Oh well, who needs her anyway?._

Stephanie sat on her green bed, with a sad expression on her face. Now that Shadow knew she was against him, he probably despised her. Stephanie's expression turned to a blank one. _Oh well, who needs him anyways?_


	10. Rush

_Did I just mouth off to Shadow? Boy, this body came with confidence _Stephanie smiled.

She stood up and decided to apologize to Shadow. It wasn't his fault he didn't like Sonic.

_I hope he's still in the control room. _She walked out of her room and went to the control room. She looked in and he wasn't there. _Damn._

"Looking for someone?" a voice came from right behind her. Startled she turned around. Shadow was standing behind her with arms crossed and a brow raised.

"Why do you do that? You see someone, go behind them and scare the crap out of them!" Stephanie said.

"It's just that I don't quite trust you yet." Shadow lowered his brow. Stephanie rolled her eyes.

"I came out here to say I'm sorry. I'm sorry I got mad at you for insulting Sonic." Stephanie sighed. Shadow nodded and walked away.

"Where are you going?" Stephanie asked.

"There's a town, not to far from here, and Eggman told me to meet me there." Shadow said over his shoulder.

"Aren't you afraid I'll do something while you're gone?" Stephanie smiled.

"No." Shadow stopped, turned around and gave a smirk. "Decoe and Bocoe are here." Stephanie's eyes went wide as Shadow headed for the metal door.

"You can't leave me here with _those _two!" Stephanie frowned. Shadow opened the door walked out and faced Stephanie.

"Watch me." Shadow said then closed the door.

"Stephanie!" she heard the two annoying robots call and she moaned.

* * *

Stephanie sighed out of boredom as she lay on the couch in the control room._At least those robots aren't bugging me _Stephanie looked at the corner where the robots were cowering in fear. They had bugged her _so_ much that she had threatened to tear their heads off and rip out their wires. Of course, she would never do that, but they didn't know that. Stephanie heard the exit door open and close. She excitedly got up and opened the sliding doors. She peeked down the hallway and saw Eggman and Shadow walking towards the control room. Shadow had a lot of bags in his hands. She walked into hallway and walked towards him.

"Can I help with anything?" she asked politely.

"No. I'm fully capable of doing this myself." he said rather rudely.

"Fine." she watched him pass her and saw Eggman go into the control room.

"Stephanie." Eggman said.

"Yes?" Stephanie walked into the control room.

"Why is Decoe and Bocoe in a corner?" Eggman asked.

"Let's just say I intimidate them." Stephanie smiled and walked out. Stephanie walked up to Shadow's room and knocked on the door, but there was no answer. She opened the door and saw Shadow unpacking his bags and pulling out cans of paint and paintbrushes.

"What are you doing?" Stephanie asked curiously.

"Why do you need to know?" Shadow didn't look up at her, he just continued unpacking the plastic bags.

"Because." Stephanie smiled. There was a moment of silence and then Shadow finally sighed.

"I'm decorating my room." Shadow said, turning to face the wall.

"Gasp!" Stephanie said. "Shadow decorating?" Stephanie giggled.

"Are you always this annoying." Shadow faced her.

"No." Stephanie shook her head. Shadow turned back to the wall.

"Can I help?" Stephanie asked.

"Will you be quiet if you do?" Shadow asked.

"No." she giggled and grabbed a paintbrush. Shadow rolled his eyes and grabbed a paintbrush too. He opened one of the paint cans, revealing black paint.

"Oh, what a surprise. Black." Stephanie said.

"Are you here to paint or to make fun of me?" Stephanie could tell she was getting on his nerves and she didn't want him to think she was a rude brat, so she stopped.

He dipped the paintbrush in the paint and began painting the wall. Stephanie began too.

It became silent as the two worked. Shadow looked over at Stephanie's work. She was doing ok but not the right effect he wanted.

He set down his paintbrush on the newspaper below and walked over to Stephanie, gently grabbing her wrist.

"Like this." Shadow said, standing behind her and moved her wrist up and down, painting the wall. Stephanie felt a rush and began to blush. She felt his hand guide hers up and down the wall, painting nice even strokes. He painted slowly and what felt as an eternity.

Shadow also felt a rush, but still didn't know what kind of rush. It wasn't the kind of rush he got when he ran and it wasn't the kind of rush he got when he hugged Maria either. He let go of her wrist, hiding the small blush on his face and resumed painting and all was silent again.


End file.
